Arrow 3 represents the finest in bilateral military cooperation, a testament to the depth and ingenuity of the US-Israel military alliance.

Eyeing Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program, the United States and Israel
are jointly developing missile defense systems capable of protecting Israel, US
forces and friendly countries from potential medium- and long-range Iranian
missile attacks. The Arrow 3, whose first flight test was just postponed until
November at the earliest due to an interceptor malfunction, is the latest and
most capable iteration of the Arrow (Hetz) Missile Defense System. Once
operational, the Arrow 3 will be the most advanced missile defense system in the
world, a powerful example of the fruits of the US-Israel
relationship.

When deployed, Arrow 3 will be Israel’s frontline missile
defense in any future conflict with Iran and is a marked improvement over the
currently fielded Arrow 2, operational since 2005. Arrow 3 is “more advanced
than what we have ever attempted in the US with our programs,” Lt. Gen. Patrick
O’Reilly, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, proclaimed earlier in the
year.

Co-produced by Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the
mobile Arrow System consists of four main components: the hypersonic Arrow
interceptors themselves, the EL/M- 2080 early warning AESA radar (also known as
the Super Green Pine), the command, control, communication and intelligence
center (C3I), and the launch control center.

The Arrow 3 provides more
time to engage the latest generation of enemy missiles. As a “shoot, look,
shoot” system with a “high divert” capability, the Arrow 3 can be launched
immediately after detection of the incoming missile into what Israeli planners
call a “waiting space.” Once the incoming missile’s precise speed and trajectory
are determined, the Arrow 3’s “warhead,” known as the kill vehicle, can be
redirected to the target using a dual-pulse motor, striking it in outer space,
just above the earth’s atmosphere.

The Arrow 3 interceptor missile boasts
twice the range of the Arrow 2, despite being significantly smaller and weighing
only half as much. Costs have dropped as well, with the Arrow 3 interceptors
expected to run $2.2 million a piece, about 20 percent less than the Arrow
2.

In anticipation of a high volume of incoming missiles, the Super Green
Pine radar can track 30 targets moving at speeds of more than 3,000 meters per
second at a greater than 400 km. range, and, combined with the Arrow 3
interceptor, the Arrow System is expected to be capable of intercepting salvos
of more than five enemy missiles within 30 seconds.

The early launch time
and higher intercept altitude could allow for up to five separate intercept
attempts to be made at the same incoming missile, several by the Arrow 3 above
the atmosphere and several by Arrow 2 after reentry. The Arrow System is also
capable of operating with the even more powerful US-owned and operated X-band
radar stationed in the Negev.

Illustrative of the strong defense ties
between the US and Israel, Arrow 3 is not only a collaborative project between
Boeing and IAI, but also a partnership between the US Missile Defense Agency and
the Israel Missile Defense Organization. Working out of its Huntsville, Alabama
plant, Boeing delivered its first Arrow 3 component in February 2010. Thus far,
Boeing has contributed about one-third of the interceptor components and will be
responsible for 50% of production moving forward, with the rest done by IAI in
Israel. Moreover, the United States receives all data from Israeli field tests,
reaping the benefits of a program it has helped fund.

If the flight test
is successful, Arrow 3 will mark a revolution in missile defense, with worldwide
reverberations. Boeing already expects a large global sales potential,
particularly to countries threatened by long-range ballistic missiles; two
potential customers, India and South Korea, have purchased reconfigured versions
of the Green Pine radar, and a $1 billion deal to sell the Arrow system to South
Korea might be on the horizon. With Iranian, North Korean and Chinese ballistic
missile arsenals increasing, many US allies, such as Arab Gulf states or Asian
littoral countries, would have heightened interest in the
system.

“Israeli missile defense is unique in the world,” Bill
Dickerhoff, Arrow Program Manager at Boeing, explained. Due to Israel’s
small size and high population density in the region around Tel Aviv, a single
successful nuclear missile strike could end the country’s
existence. Arrow 3’s pioneering improvements will add precious minutes to
Israel’s response time, increasing the chance of a successful interception,
greatly reducing the possibility of nuclear fallout permeating the atmosphere,
and giving the Israeli populace more time to seek shelter, potentially saving
millions of lives.

Arrow 3 represents the finest in bilateral military
cooperation, a testament to the depth and ingenuity of the US-Israel military
alliance. After successful “hot ejection” and radar tracking tests performed
over the past year, postponement of the first flight test – a second flight test
and two interception tests will be required before Israel declares the system
operational – is not expected to hurt the program’s target of becoming
operational by the middle of the decade. When finally operational, Arrow 3 will
represent extraordinary progress in the elusive and decadeslong march toward
effective missile defense.

The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA).

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